Disney’s collectible toys add stealth game programming

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Parents with kids of pestering age will know of Skylanders, Activision's video game that expands with the
addition of collectible toys. Disney Interactive's upcoming Infinity aims to go one better though, with an entirely
customisable Toy Box mode where players get a backdoor introduction
to game design.

While players of the standard toy sets get standalone digital
adventures featuring the likes of The Incredibles or Jack Sparrow,
items earned in-game can be transferred into Toy Box for more
creative uses.

"We noticed kids started exploring the functionality [of the
items], experimenting with all of the different virtual toys we
were giving them," Disney's John Vignocchi tells Wired. "Then we
layered on the ability to start building [and] all the different
logic and rule sets."

The result is a customisable world where "toys" can be linked by
cause and effect -- sports games that keep track of goals or racers
with timers and lap counts. Users can then upload creations to Disney, with the top
community efforts released for others to play.

"We're most excited to see the things that gamers and Disney
fans come up with that we never even thought of," said Vignocchi.
"That's kind of the magic of it."